Fierce Friday: Funeral Hat

Today is Friday the 13th. It's also the day of a mock climate funeral protest at Worcester City Hall. With those things in mind, I am dressed up in funeral attire. I did think about going in drag because women's funeral hats are much more dramatic, but I opted for laziness instead. I'm still going to tell you about funeral hats and European women's mourning attire, though...

Drawing of four women in mourning attire.

Advertisement for mourning attire.

Another advertisement for mourning attire.

Mourning dress really took hold in the Victorian Era following the death of Prince Albert in 1861. Queen Victoria wore her black mourning clothing (called "widows weeds") for the remainder of her life until her death in 1901. Many chose to follow her example so mourning attire became fashionable and was seen as the decent thing to do following the death of a loved one.

Queen Victoria in Mourning Attire

At its peak in the Victorian Era, widows were expected to wear mourning attire for two and a half years following the death of their spouse. The first year and a day were "full mourning" during which a widow would wear only black clothing and accessories, and she would also wear a drape of black crape over her entire garment. The next nine months were "secondary mourning," during which she would partially remove the crape but continue wearing only black. In the next three months the widow removed the crape entirely but still wore only black. The last six months were called "half mourning" and somber colors of ordinary clothing were gradually introduced (think grey, white, and purple). Of course my concern right now is hats. Women in the Victorian Era began mourning with long veils and as mourning progressed the veils got shorter and the hats and bonnets went from simple to fancy.

Two Women in Victorian Mourning Attire

Mourning fashion changed somewhat during the Edwardian Era, but it was reduced even more during the World Wars because so many people died that almost everyone was in mourning for someone. Women continued to wear darker clothes for about 6 months to a year after the death of their loved ones up through the 1950s, but this trend continued to relax until the present day when many folks don't even wear black to the funeral itself.

Drag Queen Tiffany Diamond looking amazing. When I die, I hope someone dresses like this to my funeral.

Ok. All of this lead-up bears no resemblance to my outfit. Sorry! I just dressed like I normally would for a funeral. I had my black suit, black tie, and grey shirt, plus black lipstick and nail polish. And a black funeral hat to complete the outfit! Here are some pics of me and of the protest:

Me looking serious in my mourning attire.

Me looking happy and excited in my fake funeral attire.

People at the protest in front of a fake coffin that says "Goodbye All We Love" and "Mourn The Earth."

Protesters carry the fake coffin in a funeral procession for the Earth.

And a bonus picture of me with my brother's puppy Freyja after everything was over and I was back in my normal clothes:

Me in my funeral hat and a purple and white striped shirt with my brother's puppy licking my face.

On a less funeral hat note: Today is also the first shift of my preceptorship. It's overnights on an adult floor at a hospital about 45 minutes from my house. Wish me luck!